


Oya Manda

by hellowkatey



Series: Febuwhump 2021 [23]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: FebuWhump2021, Gen, Hurt CT-7567 | Rex, Hurt Obi-Wan Kenobi, Mentioned Ahsoka Tano, Planet Kadavo (Star Wars), Slavery, Whipping, Whump, Zygerria Arc (Star Wars: Clone Wars), Zygerrians (Star Wars)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-24
Updated: 2021-02-24
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,833
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29666733
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hellowkatey/pseuds/hellowkatey
Summary: While enslaved on Kadavo, Rex takes a young Togruta under his wing.[Febuwhump day 23: "don't look"]
Relationships: CT-7567 | Rex & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & CT-7567 | Rex
Series: Febuwhump 2021 [23]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2138259
Comments: 1
Kudos: 64





	Oya Manda

**Author's Note:**

> Oya Manda-- Mando'a expression of solidarity

While the tally marks on Rex's armor are for his kills, the ones he now marks on the side of his boot are for the days that have passed since he and General Kenobi were taken to Kadavo. Crossing the other four marks with a shaky diagonal line to signify the end of the fifth day isn't as satisfying as another enemy out of the way. He sighs as he sets down the little piece of graphite, letting his head hit the back of the bunk heavily like he's too exhausted to hold it up himself. 

Kadavo is a new type of hell. He thought cadet training was hard work but this... this is torture. The older troopers like to whisper about their "slavery to the Republic", but those cushy Captains and Commanders haven't been _here._ The clones might as well be house pets of the Republic compared to the horrors he's seen at the Zygerrian market. 

There is a heavy sigh in the bunk below him, and the clunk of a body falling onto the hard surface all at once. _General_ _Kenobi._ Rex hasn't seen him all day, so he peers over the side at his Jedi General. 

To say General Kenobi looks worse for wear would be a compliment. The man's robes have been all but shredded by the number of whips and beatings he's taken. They're basically red at this point too, caked into his skin by the dried blood. Though Rex hasn't exactly had it easy either, he certainly hasn't gotten the treatment of a _Jedi_ in slave captivity. Slowly, _painfully_ , General Kenobi rolls over, his eyes meeting Rex's in the dim light. 

"Hello, Rex," he says softly. He half-expects him to ask him how he's doing, but then again, the general hasn't asked that in two days. It only prompts the same question in return, which he suspects Kenobi doesn't want to answer either. 

"General. Where'd they have you today?" 

"Rocks," he shifts his body so he's lying on his back, arms folded behind his head as a pillow. "You?" 

"Digging." 

"Hm." His eyes are already fluttering closed. Manual labor for fourteen hours a day will do that to a person. The draw of sleep is also tugging at the clone captain. He takes one last look at Kenobi. 

"Night, sir." 

The general in return just hums something incoherent, and Rex lays back on his own bunk. 

He's on digging again the next day. Separated from General Kenobi once again. They lead him with a group of Togrutas to their site, and by the crack of a whip slicing through the air, they begin their day. Rex has learned the drill by now: stay quiet, keep working, and keep your head down. He hasn't had a bad beating since the second day with this tactic, and he'd like to stay in as few pieces as possible if he's going to be in fighting shape when they're rescued. 

_If we ever get rescued._

He pauses, the negative thought settling in and sending a chill down his spine. _No, we will get rescued. They will come for us._

Rex knows this. Their mission is to save the Togrutas, and by association, him and the general. But he can see the five tally marks on his boot from where he stands, and he can't deny that it's been a long time since they were taken. 

"Back to work!" a Zygerrian guard growls, and Rex raises his eyes to see if he's talking to him-- he is, but as Rex shoves his shovel into the gravel ground, a young girl catches his eye. The Togruta is also assigned to digging duty, but she hardly looks older than the commander! In fact, she looks quite like the commander, her montrals also blue and white, though a darker blue, and her white facial markings make up the majority of her face. What really gets him is when she looks up, obviously feeling someone's eyes on her, and stares at him with these big, round blue eyes. She just... reminds him so much of Tano it brings a knot to his stomach. 

Seeing her in that getup at the market was... sickening enough. Through the war, Rex and the others have all but adopted the kid as their own, and to see her playing the part of the slave made his blood boil. Especially since he was playing the part of a slaver. 

But to see an actual young Togruta that looks remarkably like their own Jedi... it's too much to take. All he can think about is if that were Tano, and it makes him eager to add more tally marks to his helmet. 

"I said," a booming voice cuts through his remembrance of Ahsoka Tano, " _back to work!"_ The crack of a whip snaps crisply in the air and Rex watches the girl flinch. He gets back to digging, but the anger builds in his belly. _What is a kid doing out here in the first place?_

By lunchtime, which of course, isn't actually lunch for the slaves but for the guards, Rex has ended up next to the Togruta girl as those between them were sent elsewhere. When Rex is confident the guards are too occupied with their food, he leans over slowly. 

"Hey kid," he says softly. Even with his care to not startle her, she jumps at the sound of his voice. "You doing alright?" 

She peers up at him with hesitant eyes but seeing he too is bound by a collar just as her she nods. "As good as I can." 

"Tired?" 

"My legs..." she winces. "Exhausted." 

He nods, noticing the shake in her thin legs. 

"Pick up less gravel in your shovel. I'll be sure to make up for it for you. Just concentrate on staying upright." he says, giving her a sympathetic nod. He isn't sure if she knows this yet, but the guards are not kind to those who collapse of exhaustion. They act as though flogging is a replacement for proper food and rest. 

She looks at him uneasily, but nods. "Thank you. I will try." 

They continue to work in silence. She does, indeed, pick up smaller loads, and Rex tries to move a little quicker and pick up a little more. He himself has been keeping a steady pace, and the mission of helping her is enough to bring his energy up again. 

"What is your name?" he asks after a while. "Mine is Rex." 

"Arshee." 

"That's a pretty name. How old are you?" 

"Eighteen." 

She looks much younger, but it could be the sunken cheeks and thin frame. 

Rex glances at the guards, who are dealing with someone on the other side of their workspace, and he leans in again. "We're going to get you out of here, Arshee. Help is coming." 

"When?" she asks, as though being told help is on the way is something she hears on the daily. 

"I-- I don't-- soon." 

Arshee just nods, the points of her montrals sagging as she puts her head down to concentrate on digging. Rex sighs. He just wanted to give her hope, but it seems this is no place for that sort of thing. 

Then two hours later, despite her best efforts, Arshee's body starts to shake, and she collapses to the ground. Her shovel has not yet toppled over when the guards have grabbed her by the biceps and hoisted her to her knees. 

"No, please!" she bellows in terror. "I just fell!" 

"You'll learn to rest on the job," one says, twirling around his whip as it powers up. It happens so fast, Rex hardly has time to react to what is happening. He stops working to stare at them in horror as the first lash from the electro-whip makes sickening contact with her back, wrapping around to jab into her ribs. The sight makes him queasy and immeasurably angry. Before he can think it through, he reverses his grip on the shovel, and when the slaver raises his arm to hit her again, Rex jumps between them, pointing his shovel at his face. 

"Enough," he says. "She's a _kid_." 

"She's our _property_." 

"Well... so am I." 

The Zygerrian's face goes from mild pleasure to a large, sinister smile ear-to-ear. 

"Looks like we got ourselves a hero." 

He hears a dull thud and the sound of crawling across gravel. Rex can see Arshee sitting on the ground with her arms wrapped around her torso out of his peripheral, her eyes wide with horror. Once again, he sees the commander in her place. Rex is ready to accept the fate of this if it means she will be spared. 

The slave driver raises his whip, the string crackling with extra power, and Rex looks over his shoulder at the young Togruta girl. 

"Don't look," he whispers, and then he feels the whip snap into his skin, sending searing, white-hot pain through every part of him. The electricity comes next, making every muscle in his body spasm and seize until they feel like they're melting off his bones entirely. There are only a couple seconds between each whip-- a few moments to recover before the progression repeats. His nerves are so strung out, he hardly realizes they have turned him around to work on slashing across his back.

In one of the lulls, he looks over where Arshee landed. Thankfully, she listened to him and is staring off in the opposite direction. He can see the tears dripping from her chin, her arms wrapped so tightly around her midsection it's like she's the only thing holding herself together. 

_She probably feels guilty that I've taken her beating..._ and maybe that is the case. But Rex would much rather her be upset with guilt than crying over the pain of torture. He will be sure to reassure her of this when he has the chance.

Rex grits his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut, and he rides out continued assault. 

Now Rex is the one that looks worse for wear. As he drags himself back to his bunk, his body still buzzing from the electric shocks, he finds Kenobi sitting on the edge of the bunks already, watching his slow approach. He has a new black eye today, still bright red in some places so it must be fairly recent. 

" _Rex_..." the general says in concerned awe as he sits down next to him. He has no energy to hoist himself up into his own bunk yet. Even sitting, his body sways, and Kenobi puts a stabilizing hand on his back. 

"You mind?" Rex asks, holding out the small piece of graphite and stiffly raising his food. General Kenobi eyes the graphite and then his boot before taking it from his hand. 

"They'll come," Kenobi says quietly as he places a new tally next to his group of five. 

But even the Jedi, ever optimistic, doesn't sound entirely convinced of his own words. 


End file.
